Hi I am in such a pickle. I want to resit my GCSE additional science and thought I could switch to Edexcel from OCR. But I got an email from the head of exams at my college saying that I can't switch unless I do the entire qualification or take the exam there. I only wanted to take the exams but I don't know whether there is coursework involved or not in the Edexcel specification. Also how long will it take and will I be able to do it all until the exam? Also where in London can I take the exam for a cheap price? Another thing is Edexcel easier then OCR or the opposite?

(Original post by Karima_98)
Hi I am in such a pickle. I want to resit my GCSE additional science and thought I could switch to Edexcel from OCR. But I got an email from the head of exams at my college saying that I can't switch unless I do the entire qualification or take the exam there. I only wanted to take the exams but I don't know whether there is coursework involved or not in the Edexcel specification. Also how long will it take and will I be able to do it all until the exam? Also where in London can I take the exam for a cheap price? Another thing is Edexcel easier then OCR or the opposite?

You'll see there that there's a controlled assessment involved, which is a form of coursework.

As for relative ease of the qualification, I'd suggest that you shouldn't be concerned about that - firstly, it's not the reason why you should make the decision about choosing one course over another, and secondly it's going to be a largely subjective measure anyway.

I'll leave your other questions for others to pick up, as I'm not in a position to give a reliable answer to those. Best of luck with getting this sorted.

You'll see there that there's a controlled assessment involved, which is a form of coursework.

As for relative ease of the qualification, I'd suggest that you shouldn't be concerned about that - firstly, it's not the reason why you should make the decision about choosing one course over another, and secondly it's going to be a largely subjective measure anyway.

I'll leave your other questions for others to pick up, as I'm not in a position to give a reliable answer to those. Best of luck with getting this sorted.

Okay how about this, the head of exam said that if I did OCR last year, I can retake anything within that so I could retake biology or physics. If I got a D in my coursework, and let's say I did the physics, chemistry and biology exam and got a high grade, would the entire grade change or just the exams?
Would universities even look at the coursework grade or would they overlook it if I did well in the exams?

(Original post by Karima_98)
Okay how about this, the head of exam said that if I did OCR last year, I can retake anything within that so I could retake biology or physics. If I got a D in my coursework, and let's say I did the physics, chemistry and biology exam and got a high grade, would the entire grade change or just the exams?
Would universities even look at the coursework grade or would they overlook it if I did well in the exams?

My understanding is that the revised 'module' grades, taken together, would then contribute to a revised overall grade when re-certificated. I'd suggest running this past your teachers though, for confirmation.

When it comes to university entry, each institution will have its own approach, but in most cases I'd expect them just to look at the overall grade.

(Original post by Illusionary)
My understanding is that the revised 'module' grades, taken together, would then contribute to a revised overall grade when re-certificated. I'd suggest running this past your teachers though, for confirmation.

When it comes to university entry, each institution will have its own approach, but in most cases I'd expect them just to look at the overall grade.